Friday, July 31, 2009

Good Morning everyone. I have 217 pics from Tuesday at the CHA show and 192 from Wednesday and yesterday but cannot get them to load. The speed here at the hotel is horrible and my system times out before getting even 1 pic uploaded. We are off headed to the consumer show this morning (to the PTI booth) and then headed back to Tennessee. I will attempt to post pics Saturday evening from home. I know you are dying to see all the new merchndise from the show, it was AMAZING. I haven't ran into Nicole and the gang yet but I did get to see Kimberly Crawford in my Spellbinders Class. I will post a pic with the others, she is soooooo super sweet. We took some great workshops while here and have those projects to share as well. We also did some MAJOR ahopping for the store. I will let everyone know what is coming in as soon as I have time to sit down and list it all myself (lol). One that I can tell you about is Flower Soft. This is amazing prodect and so simple to use. It should be arriving in about 6 weeks. For those of you that come to the store I am going to take my laptop up there and let all the pics show on a slide show so that you can see them. If anyone can tell me how to do that and add it to my blog I will, I just don't know how, lol.

Well, gotta get to packing so I will check in later. Thanks for stopping by Precious Scraps.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Here we are in Orlando, Florida for the Summer CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) Show. All I can say is WOW ! First let me start out by defining "we". That would be myself and my husband, Larry. He has got to be the BEST husband in the world. I mean, how many of you can say your husband could be dragged to a CHA show and participate in the workshops much less volunteer to do so. I had a dear friend who was going to attend with me but for reasons beyond her control she was unable to so do (miss you K) so my husband agreed to come along so I wouldn't have to make the drive alone. Yes, I said drive, 12 hours! (I refuse to fly). Anyway, I had signed my friend and I up for several workshops that I thought I would have to miss half off since she couldn't attend. My DH said he would be happy to attend and get the kits and take notes for me, I didn't even have to ask. Isn't he great! We needed a vacation since we haven't had time to spend together since we started the store so this worked out great.

(this is me and Larry after a long hard day or workshops)

(this is the convention center lobby at the west wing)

We started our day out by leaving Tennessee at 9:30 am on Sunday morning and arrived at 1:30am Orlando time. (We stopped several times to stretch our legs and grab a bite. I had a 8am class this morning as did Larry, but he decided to sleep in and skipped class. His class was with Piggy tales so I picked up his kit and will put it together later and show you. My class was with Clear Scraps. I loved this class and was able to experience so many first and try out some great products. I will be bringing this knowledge back with me and teaching this class in the store.

I got to use Copics to airbrush with, which was a first, as well as use Copic refill inks to stamp with (like Ranger Alcohol inks). We used some transparencies from Prima that you can color on with the Copics that turned out stunning. I know that I will be headed to the Prima booth tomorrow to place an order. For those of you wondering I already carry the Clear Scraps Albums in the store. This is one of those projects that you have to see in person to appreciate. I still have to finish mine. There is a title to be put on the front from chipboard but I haven't decided what photos I am going to use yet so I am waiting on that and I still have to put the last page together. I will post another pic when it is complete but I was so excited that I wanted to go ahead and post a little of it.

My next class was with Hero Arts. I enjoyed this class well as we used water coloring on our cards which is something I don't do ofen so this was a challenge. I had the priviledge of meeting Jennifer McGuire.She is the sweetest little thing. The team from Hero Arts did a great job. This is another booth that I am anxious to visit. I will post the pics from this class tomorrow, I have a few touch-ups to do. But here is a pic of me and Jennifer.

Guess who I saw..........that's right, just next door to my class was Tim Holtz. I was Tim's teacher's assistant 2 years ago at CKU in Nashville. I love his products and carry a large selection in the store. We are trying to get a class organized this month so be sure to check back ont he blog for more information. I am going by the booth tomorrow to order everything needed so it is just a matter of if it comes in in time for the class. We will keep our fingers crossed. This is a class you will not want to miss!

Larry's class was with Quick Qoutes for which again he picked up the kits that we will complete and post later. I saw the young lady that taught the class in the hall and she approached Larry and I and told be he was very attentive and took excellant notes, A+. I can't wait to rip open these kits and get to work. The completed ones I saw from some of the other retailers was awesome.

We had a short break for dinner and a little shopping. Since Larry had been such a goodd sport I took him by the Harley Davidson store here in Orlando and bought him a few goodies. We got some great t-shirts, sweat shirts, patches and a hat. We meet a wonderful young lady from Rome, Georgia who worked there..... hi Brittany. Thanks for the wonderful service and conversation.

After dinner, back to the convention center for two more workshops. Larry's was with SRM Stickers and Cosmo Cricket. They created a 2010 Calendar. Again, you know the drill, pics later.

My class was my absolute favorite so far! I went to a Flower Soft workshop. I had been thinking of getting this for the store after I saw Beth (babies, PTI forum) and Niki use it, now I KNOW I will. This was so easy to use, I was stunned. We made some amazing cards. I got to meet Susa, the inventor of Flower Soft as well as their TV demonstrator, Noreen. Mark from the Indiana distribution center and his wife were there, as well as, Rachel from customer service. These are some the kindest people I have met. I could listen to the beautiful accents of Susan and Noreen all day (from the UK). This product is amazing, I cannot wait to get my order in first thing in the morning. I have been assured it will ship immediately.

(Susan, the creator of Flower Soft, me, and Noreen, their demonstrator)

(The first card we made, I am stunned that "I" actually did this)

(another card we created)

(Susan and Noreen's name tags, they are so cute)

I have a lot more photos but trying to upload them a the Hotel is proving to be trying so I will wait until I get home. These few will give you just a little taste of the wonderful things we are experiencing while a the CHA Summer.

That's about it for tonight. We are exhausted so we are back at the Hotel for a good nights rest to prepare for tomorrows show. I will try to get as many photos as possible and be back to post tomorrow evening. We have 7 am workshops in the morning so enjoy the projects and as always, thanks for stopping by Precious Scraps, Goodnight.....

Friday, July 3, 2009

Hey everyone......it has been a while since I stopped in and said hello. I am sorry for the sporadic posting, that just seems to be my life right now....full of good intentions and no time see them through. I have been soooooo busy at the store and at my full time job. We are short one employee at the dental office and have been since the third week in May. I, as well as a few others, have had to pick up the extra load and it has been exhausting. We have about 3 more weeks to go I think. The store has been busy. We've had a lot of classes this past month and had a tremendous turn out with loads of fun. I added a Youth and Teen class last month which was well attended and requested again. It always makes me feel good that people ask me at the end of class "when is our next one?". I have added the July schedule to the left of this post so be sure to check it out. There will not be any classes the last week of July as I will be attending CHA, YIPPEE ! I will still have Discount day on the last Saturday of the month however. Those not familiar with discount day should know when you come in on the last Saturday of the month upon check-out you get to draw for your discount off your total purchase, anywhere from 10-40% off. I am not one of those that puts 100 10% off tags and 2 40% off in the bucket either. There are EQUAL number of each discount. There has been a lot of traffic through the store from travelers and campers this month. I so enjoy getting to chat with everyone and find out where they are from and a little about their hometown. Thanks to everyone who stops in. I have a great "regular" crew that comes in as well that I appreciate and love, you're the best, thanks for your continued support.

I have a few new things in the store this week.......... EK Success Edger Punches (limited supply). These sell for $14.99.

Glimmer Mist and Glimmer Screens.........The Glimmer Mist is $6.95 a Bottle and the screens are $5.95. If you have a particular color you are interested in please send me an email or give us a call. We have over 30 colors to choose from and a wide variety of screens. Here are just a few.....

We now have a wide variety of application mediums from Ranger and Tim Holtz......

For more information regarding colors, pricing and availability please call the store or send us an email.

I have had this product for a while but I don't think I ever posted it.... My Mind's Eye Breaking Free. I absolutely love this line for the summer. Several of the design team members have worked with this line and I suggest you check out their post. Here is one of my favorite from Tammi Bennett..

Check out Tammi's blog at this page link and see the other pages she has created with papers from Precious Scraps and the g.c.d Studio line. Please be sure to check out ALL of the design team members as they work hard to bring you product previews and samples as well as share their awesome talent along the way. I love you girls !

We will be getting 6 new lines from My Mind's Eye soon so be sure to check in.....

We have these BEAUTIFUL flowers in from Petaloo. They are Wild Rose from the Mulberry Street Collection. They are the closest thing to an actual pressed dried flower I have ever seen. They are $3.69 for a package of 6. Each flower is roughly 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Here are the colors available......

Well I think that is enough for today. I will try to be back a little sooner the next time. Again and as always... thanks for your patience as I venture out into this whole new world to me and for stopping by Precious Scraps. Bev